In recent years, church congregations shopping for fixed seating have encountered a growing dilemma in reaching a consensus over the choice of pews versus theater seats. For the past decade the number of theater seats purchased by churches has grown significantly each succeeding year. At the same time, the sentiment of many congregation members in favor of pews runs as deep as the roots of church tradition.
One of the strongest appeals that have made theater seats attractive to churches is the extra egress space achieved by the self-lifting seats. Egress space is the passage room between the rows of seats. Ample egress space provides benefits in not only audience comfort and safety, but also contributes to ease for maintenance and cleaning purposes.
Pews that are spaced a typical 36″ back-to-back may leave only about 12″ of egress, which is a typical minimum fire code requirement. Theater seating, utilizing self-lifting seats, increase this exit passage dramatically. The present invention is a seating assembly that embodies all of the important features of both pews and theater seats in one product. The present invention maintains the traditional appearance of pews while offering the benefits of self-lifting seats. In fact, the present invention provides advantage over what is offered by either conventional pews or conventional theater seats.
This egress dimension is just one of the areas where the present invention is more advantageous than traditional seating. The present invention can provide 22″ or more of passageway between rows, which can be double that of conventional pews and up to 50% more than most theater seats. This extra passage, while obviously providing greater worship space and traffic flow, also offers benefits in the form of greater seat capacity, lower seating costs, and lower construction costs.
Building codes restrict the length of a conventional pew based on the egress space. A typical code may restrict pew length to between 20′ to 25″ where an egress of 12″ is provided. As egress space increases, it becomes easier for people to maneuver between rows and thus evacuation time will increase in the case of an emergency. Therefore, various building codes will permit additional seating and longer pews as egress space increases. Generally, an additional three seats are allowed for each one inch increase of egress. Accordingly, by increasing the available egress, the present invention could extend to more than 3 times the allowable length of a conventional pew without violating code.
The present invention could increase seat capacity over conventional pews. Longer rows mean that fewer aisles are required throughout the facility and fewer aisles obviously allow more floor space to be committed to seating, producing additional seat capacity. Even if the initial cost of the present invention is more than the average pew, the added product cost is far less than the added construction cost would be to expand the worship facility accommodate the provided seating increase. Thus, the present invention provided lower seating costs per person.
Aisle ways often empty into doorways. Because fewer aisles are needed with the present invention, fewer doorways are required in a construction plan, lowering overall construction costs. Similarly, the greater seating capacity eliminates the need for many intermediate steps in balcony related construction where aisles are deleted, further reducing costs.
The present invention allows for the elimination of arm dividers typical to most theater seats, which can be cumbersome. Arm dividers in conventional theater seats occupy 2 to 3 inches of seat width per seating unit, prohibit continuous seating, are a problem to larger people, and add maintenance as well as cost.
The present invention may also greatly reduce the noise and maintenance often associated with self-lifting seats. The present invention seat lift preferably will be a gravity lift, counter balance seat mechanism free of springs and other mechanics that generally create noise and ongoing maintenance. A preferred means of a self lifting seating assembly is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,698,834. Any additional benefits of such a seating assembly are disclosed therein.
Also, traditional pews must be custom built to reach a desired or specified width. The present invention employs modularity to its assembly components to allow it to meet any desired or specified length. The use of standardized parts and modular assembly also provides for ease in adjustments in both seating design and assembly. The modular components also allow for ease in repair and maintenance of the bench.
Finally, the present invention requires fewer supports than either tradition pews or theater seating. This saves in component costs, assembly costs, and also provides great access and ease for cleaning and maintenance.
While worship seating does not have a significant influence on worship itself, the combined physical elements of building and seat design stand to maximize stewardship goals and ministry objectives. The goal of the present invention is to partner with the architectural team in bringing these physical elements together in a way that optimizes these common objectives.